Mike, I started learning Spanish about a year after you started. I truly enjoyed your videos since they were quite motivational. After I became conversational and spending considerable time now in Latin America, I am so glad I went down this time-consuming journey. I connect with the locals and love it. I think because I was so successful in learning Spanish, I said to myself why not learn another language, like Japanese. I've spent 2 months in Japan in 2023 and love the culture, food, and infrastructure. But I discovered something in Japan, and that was their love of jazz. I recently re-took-up the saxophone (since high-school) since I retired and truly enjoyed going to the jazz clubs and jams and getting inspired on how to do jazz improvisation. Jazz improvisation is truly another language in itself. So now i spend my time speaking Spanish to natives while in San Diego or Latin American and listening and learning the art/language of Jazz/improvisation.
Your story is a perfect example of when learning a language is great and helpful. It enhances your life tremendously and is practical and that’s the key 💯
i genuinely feel like i would never EVER lose interest in learning Spanish. whenever i hear it, it really makes me feel some typa way😅. it's so smooth and fast and confusing and beautiful and challenging and sexy. if Spanish people could hear their language the first time, they will fall in love with it. Bc how can one be talking so fast but sound so graceful at the same time?😂❤
As a native Spanish speaker, thank you for your opinion about my language. I really like Spanish but I feel that natives don't appreciate our language. Many native Spanish speakers prefer to use English terms because it's trendy. I'm not saying English is awful because when I hear many English words while speaking Spanish, I instantly think "why don't you speak English if you really like English words so much?" I'd rather use English words in English.
I want to quit Spanish everyday fam because I’m struggling but I want it and need it. I feel like I’m learning but not memorizing. I knew enough to get a phone number in another country and have her laugh at my efforts 😂 (worked out for both of us). But I was learning a year prior to that anyway. Thanks for the video I needed this truth.
Learn Portuguese! I'm a native Spanish speaker, but it only took me a month to learn it. I'm sure it wouldn't take you more than 3 months, per se. Brazilians are also extremely eager to hear you speaking Portuguese. I guarantee that you'd feel it's worth it for how easy it is. If you're interested, look up the lessons posted on the Internet by this university. It's called Tá Falado. The lessons there teach Portuguese in English for heritage Spanish speakers, so it would be perfect for you! It's basically Spanish with a few things changed so you'll feel confident immediately. But hey, it's only a suggestion lol
I'm very much considering it, especially with my recent discovery of some things that I love about Brazilian culture. I'm highly considering it so thanks for the insight and resources!
Swahili never made sense to me, why you were learning it. I think your point about 3 years of learning for 1-2 month of potential real world is accurate. I have a friend who’s spent 5 years learning Chinese, where we live there’s almost no Chinese people, but there’s tons of Spanish speakers. I think learning languages that you can use locally is one of the most important ways to pick a language to learn.
It actually does make sense to learn a language outside of Spanish because we live in an international world nowadays. I live on a state boarding Mexico, and even though there's more Spanish speakers, there's enough Chinese speakers and I feel a lot more "fulfilled" when I have conversations in Chinese than Spanish. The reason is because Chinese is a lot more personal to their history and culture, so they're very excited when someone knows their language. All of this applies to Swahili too. With Spanish, because of its history, its not as meaningful to a lot of them. Don't get me wrong, it's a relief to many and can open doors, but it's not as woven into them. Think about it as an English speaker, especially if you're Black American. You might be happy to help someone learn English, but the language itself doesn't have those same cultural/historical ties that Swahili has to a Tanzanian.
@@MobbinMic well my friend can’t ever use his Chinese and says he regrets it. If you like learning Chinese good for you, but that’s not what I was trying to communicate and that’s not the case with my example. If you listened Mike, he stopped learning Swahili and stated his reasons. I literally wrote that I agree with his stated reasons. You might need to watch later in the video.
@@crabbypadty393 I watched the whole video... I was saying that it does make sense to learn languages that you're not necessarily surrounded by, just maybe not to people like you - "Swahili never made sense to me, why you were learning it". Also, I'd be surprised if there's no Chinese people around your friend. But if someone is going to stay in a small town in the US and not leave their comfort zone (which is fine), they might as well stick with English to be honest. But learning languages has many benefits beyond communicating with other people in the US. In fact, I'd personally argue that it's a lot of time and effort to put in just to communicate with people, who usually already know English, but in another language... Now, if you just want to learn A language, then I think it's obvious Spanish makes the most sense in the US.
I love the way it sounds and I want to visit the countries where it’s spoken. They are just so far that I wouldn’t be visiting as often as I do and can with Spanish speaking countries. A weekend trip to Puerto Rico or Panama is very doable. A weekend trip to Tanzania is logistically impossible
Thanks for your honesty. It's like that for a lot of people. No shade to anyone, it just seemed like language learning became less about cultural exploration and more of a hustle. But everything gets commodified eventually more or less. You are the first person I have heard say that they love living in Atlanta 😆
The main thing that drives me with learning Japanese every day (and for the past 7 years) is fear, I just don't want to wake up one day and forget everything lol But yeah the joy of being able to converse is all the gratification I need, but I truly enjoy learning reading and writing as well and I've gained a deeper appreciation for linguistics through my background as being a 2nd generation Indian in the UK (and hence speaking in Hindi to my parents, and later learning to read and write) and also through learning Japanese. The experiences of using Japanese in Japan and also making Japanese friends in my home country through going to events has also taught me about what kind of person I am, what my limits are in terms of going out and engaging with peopke, are invaluable too. But 7 years later I still feel joy every day when I read, write, speak or listen to Japanese, and through that it actually made me appreciate my ancestral language Hindi more, whereas when I was a kid growing up in the UK I oftentimes felt a bit of embarassment.
Such a great perspective and insight here. I agree, if one finds what you've described then they should definitely keep at it. I feel the same way with Spanish and I plan to continue exploring even more just as you have! Gracias!
I think that beside english spanish is the most useful language in the U.S. In haiti, The first foreign language we learn is french, I Moved to the U.S to Miami as a kid, and there are a lot of spanish speakers in miami. As a kid growing up in Miami i always wanted to know what the spanish speakers were Saying and thought it was a beautiful language, and wished i spoked it. I am interested in making my french better, and learning swahili, but not right now I dropped them because i can impact more with spanish. I also feel like when You focused on one thing at a time, You pass being average and become extremely good at it. My ultimate goal is to speak it at the native level.
Great observations here and as you mentioned, I think Spanish is most practical for you there in Miami. I recently saw a video in Spanish with street interviews saying that you don't even need to speak English living in Miami. Que sigas aprendiendo!
@@MikeBen yes, in Miami You don’t have to speak english and can live a normal life. There are Cubans that run succesful businesses with no english. Learning spanish help me, so much in miami. Bro, i went into this walmart in one day, and not a single person spoke english. You should visit miami one day if You haven’t yet, and ricky from bilingue blogs Live there now i seen him twice. Muchas gracias hermano sigue adelante!! Bendiciones!!
This is why an honest and good language teacher will always tell you- learn a language that is relevant to your life and learn in it what a teacher tells you is relevant for your needs. And I would stress, what a person more fluent than you tells you is relevant for you snce you might be great grammar hater but some elements of grammar might be more relevant than others to how and when you will need a language in your particular life circumstances. I for example like some languages, their sound , their writing systems etc. but have too little use for them in my daily life this is why I keep learning langauges that maybe I do fancy less but need ot use more frequently. And like you said, it's impossible to learnt hem without learning about culture, so I do try to make the culture related to them somewhat compelling to me. So given that I like cooking, art, science and history I try to access those topics in langauges that I'm learning.
I think one important thing to keep in mind is the important ties between a language and a culture. When you learn a language, you really get a special understanding of the culture and history of the people. NOW, English and Spanish are kind of different in my opinion because they were the major colonial languages and so their roots aren't truly tied to the culture like that. For example, I'm learning Spanish in Peru, but soon I'm going to take some time out to learn some Quechua language because that really gives me a sense of the indigenous culture and the history of the Incas. My reason for taking a pause on Swahili was because I reached a high beginner level from self-studying, but I had to suspend my travels to Tanzania. However, I will definitely continue in the next couple of years when I get the chance to travel there for a few months. Because like you said, there's no point if it's not benefiting you personally at the moment, although the few times I've come across Swahili speakers has been great and really encouraging. Anyway, my point is that people have different reasons for learning languages. Many people just want to be able to communicate and mostly stick with the major colonial languages. But learners like me have interests in other culture(s) and want to connect and understand them on a whole other level. "Polyglots" like me typically have separate goals for each language. We might just want to reach a low intermediate in some and an advanced level in others and are OK with learning at a slow pace if time is limited. Just some words to give a different perspective or encourage those learning a language spoken less than English/Spanish.
I definitely understand this perspective and it makes sense if one is studying for these reasons. Its all about priorities for each individual at the end of the day as you articulated. Gracias por este comentario!
Languages are like a family. English and German are brother and sister. French is a cousin. Spanish is married to English's brother Irish. Aunt Italiana was going to marry Português but started sleeping with Greek who is the husban of Latin. I know they have 600 children and grand children and there is a guy named Chinese who is married to Japanese but had been seen with Russian in a run down hotel. One most have some one to talk to during the hard times and there is nothing like family. czcams.com/video/Dnd2lpe-rW4/video.html
Many of your reasons are why i stopped making CZcams videos. I think this applies to most endeavors. I enjoy learning languages and have now started learning Portuguese. But the time investment to make CZcams videos about that wasn’t worth it to me. And now I have a 4 month old baby making my time even more valuable. Thanks for this video Mike
Long time no see Justin! Congrats on your new baby and I completely understand your points here. Our priorities design our lives for us and I know that with all of those things you've been busy. Glad to hear from you hermano!
@@MikeBen so good to hear from you too! Living here in Florida I have also done the analysis of time investment versus return. Here in Gainesville the three foreign languages I come in contact with most frequently (in this order) are Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean. This is what is influencing which languages I am learning. And thanks for the well wishes with the baby… being dad has a huge learning curve of its own as you might expect 😁
@@gringotolatino I've heard that there are a lot of Brazilians down there so that should definitely keep you motivated. I know that you will be a great dad and congrats again! Please keep in touch!
Facts. Utility with the language is of great importance. That said, what about Portuguese? It is very similar to Spanish and there seem to be more and more Brazilians around speaking it here in the US.
@@MikeBen Cool. Hey, I look forward to more of you content. Definitely helping me to learn Spanish which is my focus right now. Keep up the good work my guy.
Really appreciated this. I've been mulling over whether I want to learn Spanish, Japanese or neither recently. The ROI point is a very good one, and also what else one has to sideline to pursue a language seriously.
Definitely, If you live in the U.S. I think the time investment is well worth it. I can't say the same for Japanese right now unless you see yourself frequently visiting Japan, living there, or you're just in love with the culture. Some things to consider...
I will waste all the time in the world to learn Korean. You say your Swahili progress is going great. My Korean progress is not going great but will continue. I think you make great points though. I'm a big hypocrite. I've spent tons of time studying foreign languages and yet if anyone comes to me saying they're thinking they would like to learn their first foreign language.. I'll basically try to change their mind and say it's HARD and takes TONS of time and even then you might not use it. I studied a crazy amount of German in my 20's and then stopped.. got enamored with Japanese, and pretty much haven't used German since. Almost zero. German and German culture just aren't part of my life and I don't see it ever becoming part of my life going forward. I still have a little interest but we only have so much time every day to spend on hobbies. Maybe when I retire. Now if I had spent all that time on Spanish instead of German like you did.. even if I weren't motivated to keep immersing and improving on my own, I could at least use Spanish to talk to people in the US when needed but if there's a German speaker in the US you can pretty much assume they learned English.
Very great points here Paul. If it's a general hobby I completely understand but a language's usefulness must be taken into serious consideration because the time investment is no joke.
There are two languages I dropped quite soon after starting them - Romanian and Dutch. Both languages are fascinating to me, but I lacked the motivation to continue beyond A1 stage, probably because I have no real, compelling reason to learn them from the perspective of real-life use (unlike French and Spanish, which I use often in the real world).
@@ba8898, perhaps, but a native Norwegen is the author of the phrase, my instructor, who expressed it to me when I was two years into studying the language. QED
I'm late in posting here. Mike, I have enjoyed your videos and watching your journey as you learned Spanish. I also like your subscriber base. You really have an intelligent, considerate group of subscribers. Living in Texas and California, I found that learning Spanish was almost a necessity. I agree that having readily available, proximal avenues to practice a language is a good reason to learn a new language, but let me make an argument in favor of continuing with at least one African language. This is not to carrot-dangle, but I found that when I was on the continent, I sorely regretted not picking up at least core proficiency in one of the languages of my african ancestors. Cancun was a wonderful trip. I loved visiting Spain, but there just isn't anything that can prepare you for the impact of a trip back to the land of your ancestral roots. I found West Africans only speak their colonial language across ethnic groups and in the business sector. At home they speak their indigenous tongue. My newfound drive for language learning came more from historical context and a post-travel awareness. In a historical context, so much effort was undertaken to strip AAs of our original languages (i.e.slave codes) that acquiring those languages is a triumph in itself. Maybe you pick up Yoruba. Maybe it's Wolof. Maybe it's Twi. When you visit the continent (no matter the country), you're going to wish you spent even more time studying. I think Swahili was a good choice for many reasons. Its usage is spreading in east, south, and central africa. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it will see some adoption in west africa in the next decade. 😯West Africa is tough to navigate language-wise. It has so many languages with smaller speaker populations. Even Nigeria is split into three major indigenous tongues. English and French give you wider coverage in West Africa. This is not so in East Africa. Swahili is increasingly becoming a lingua-franca. With Swahili, there really is no tonal aspect and pronunciation rules are pretty consistent - much like Spanish. As far as genealogical ties, you're probably more proximal to Swahili than Spanish. Not to go into too much detail here, but if you have an L haplogroup from your mother's side, you definitely have East African relatives. West Africans in Nigeria and Cameroon are tied to East Africans because those areas are considered the starting points of the Bantu migration. Swahili is a Bantu language at the core and you have a relation (though ancient) to people who speak the language. It's just something to consider. 🙂
I knew about the Bantu migrations but not to this extent. Thank you for this explanation and when I finish graduate school I will re-evaluate my language learning goals. Nothing is black and white for me in life and I change my opinions frequently. Gracias de nuevo!
THanks Jonathan and please keep us updated on any new languages you decide to learn, I definitely want to see how your approach to learning Spanish will impact your third language.
Great video! I'm still learning Spanish through italki and madrigal guide to learning spanish! It's been a long and interesting road. I can kind of hold a decent conversation but not quite at an intermediate level😊
The key is patience and consistence. Main reason why some people master languages while others don't are mainly these two factors. Learning a language is like taking care of child upbringing- takes years, requires one to be ready to put up with lots of daily effort mixed with boredom and numerous cases when one is annoyed with oneself but at the same time has to be able to maintain a constant belief that one day in the future all this will have a positive outcome. Maybe this is why it's more often a feminine pursuit? I mean evolution that must have wired women for motherhood probably have wired female brains better for such form of a long-term effort.
Hello Mike Welcome Back. Thank you for posting this video. Like you said the usefulness is really important when it comes to investing in learning a new language. From my personal experience, I am a Spanish Teacher and I love the spanish language. In my country I get the opportunity to speak with many Latino people especially Cubans and Venezuelans and just because of that it gives me motivation. However I am a big pagaent fan as well and because of watching pagaents, I became interested in Thai and Vietnamese and started to learn them but recently I've started to think about how often will I travel to Vietnam or Thailand since I live all the way in South America. That doesn't make any sense. So I quitted trying to learn Thai and Vietnamese. So agree with the points you stated in this video. I might consider learning Portuguese too since there are so many Brazilian people in my home town as well.
I had no idea you had such a close tie to Spanish. I know it comes in handy for you and I completely understand your point with those other languages. It’s hard enough to learn a language with motivation so learning one with a lack of motivation is definitely tough.
My native language is Spanish I learned English in school starting in elementary without struggle you know. those languages are not to similar Spanish is romance and English is Germanic language and I feel fine and proud to know those 2 languages fluently I can say so lately I been thinking about it and think that if I have learned this 2 languages and know about American English and Hispanic culture and I can read and write those languages then I think it be cool to learn a third language and maybe more so here I am at 38 years old just starting to learn French it is time consuming and it gets boring personally but at the same time I find it fun and interesting in the long run.
This video is my sign to try “perfecting” my Spanish while continuing to learn Portuguese & Haitian Creole (which have been enjoyable) while focusing less on Indonesian. Living in South FL/Miami area, I have TONS of opportunities to talk to Haitians & Brazilians (even Portuguese people) while there are barely any Indonesians. Also, I already stopped learning Russian, Ukrainian, & Swahili for similar reasons that you explained in the video (mainly it didn’t give me that spark of joy & eagerness to continue…at least for now). It’s also worth mentioning that if you immigrate somewhere that speaks a language you don’t enjoy but have to learn it, this video shouldn’t apply either.😂 I’m assuming a lot of people who learn English only because it’s basically the modern lingua franca in business, tourism, airports, education, science, trade, sports, politics/diplomacy, entertainment, & so forth feel similarly.
Those reasons are definitely motivating. Extrinsically motivating but motivating none the less. If you're interacting with those languages daily I'd go for it. That is what keeps us motivated in my opinion.
I feel like i needed to hear that, i've been thinking about how practical japanese would be and how i would mostly just use it for anime or music. And not that I dont like japanese music or anime but if i am going to watch / listen to it I would prefer to do it in spanish. I've felt much more of a connection to spanish than any other language and use it every day. Still dont know if i should spend time perfecting my spanish or still try to learn something new or continue with japanese tho
I feel that same connection that you feel to Spanish, we can't confuse it for a simple love of learning languages. With Spanish, there is always the fact that it is so useful and beautiful of a language in el fondo!
With google transfer you are covered short term. Learning Spanish is interesting to me. I'm retired and have time. It keeps my brain going. I can read pretty good because of context. It's just a fun challenge.
It's getting to a point in America where you can't go anywhere and some other language isn't spoken (Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, etc). I think one of those language is at least useful/essential...
I'm wondering the same thing. Before I truly start to learn a language, I ask myself if the culture and history is interesting, if I'll visit a country where it's spoken, if I like the sound of it, if I can find media in the target language I enjoy, etc. I think Swahili gets a bad rep cause a lot of Black Americans like the idea of learning an African language, typically go for Swahili as it's the most spoken, but don't want to go the extra mile for one that's not as available as Spanish.
I simply liked the way the language sounds and I want to visit countries where it is spoken. After some analysis these aren’t motivating enough. Believe it or not I started learning Spanish with no reason at all so I never viewed a profound reason to start a language as a prerequisite to learning it.
Its hard to learn new language by my self. I did it with english. -Tbh my english suck- I learn english only by reading novels and listening youtube videos without subtitle. But if you want me to speak english or write something... I'm fckd up (messy grammar, typos, pronounciation). But I do understand english -reading and listening- + I learn english because I want to read manga+light novels and back then I have a lot of time to learn new language (+the motivation). Now I want to learn a new language but I dont know how. I learn english by my self, school did teach me english language but it was too late because I dont really have any interest in english at school (At the point that I got the worst score in class). *English is my 3rd language
It is very difficult and I understand your struggle there. This is especially true if you don't have a reason to use English daily or if you're not around English speakers frequently. I will say, you wrote this very well so great job on getting your English this far.
hello Mike, can you tell us what videos will you post next? Will it be videos be about Spanish learning or travel vlogs like in South American countries?
I actually have a tripped booked but it is months out. I’m thinking more conversation videos for now to help with Spanish listening practice. Any ideas?
@@MikeBen that’s cool that you’re going to be traveling again soon and I’m definitely down for some more conversational videos and if you really are looking for a suggestion, there is a 43 year old dyslexic, who has been sharing his bumpy Spanish journey from just about the beginning also and he’s really struggling to get it😂 but I know you have been really motivational for him and I’m sure he would love to have an intermediate Spanish conversation with you✌️.
Can you pls make a video on difference between communicating with people "by speaking their language" and "using Google translate"? And if AI gets soo good, is learning languages still worth it?
Yes. This is a hard pill to swallow but once I'm good with French, it be will Kwéyòl and then possibly Spanish. French has been slow for me because of using unproductive ways of learning but I know I will learn it because I know better methods now. I want to learn Papiamento, Bambara and Wolof but am I really going to use those regularly? Problem is some of the people from those backgrounds don't even use those languages regularly (colonial sigma) excluding those born there but the children and grandchildren don't... It is sad but not so sad.
Mike !!! You are the man!!! and i have been following your channel for a maybe a year !!! I never leave comments on CZcams but i had to tell You this brother! You are one of My biggest motívators mike!!! ... Can You start learning portugese instead please??? It's a fairly easy transition from spanish and should only take like 7 months To a year to become solid...and brazilian women are crazy sexy and motivation ha ha!! What do You think brother?? ??? Please bro lol
Also You and me are the same skin color 💯...with portugese we Will definetly blend in perfectly in Brazil easily and 100 percent...also please send me the info so i can donate a little money to u for the motivation and help youve given me...i'm basically fluent now brother Mike in spanish ! Your the man! Appreciate You to the fullest!! Time for Portugese now tho G ha ha
@@franceshall7127 Me alegra! Que sigas aprendiendo. Todo bien por acá. Disfrutando la vida con amigos y familia. Estoy pensando en visitar a California también!
Quod cartarticum fuit, nullum habet effectum placeb. Cca·thar·tic /kəˈTHärdik/ adjective 1. providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions; causing catharsis. "crying is a cathartic release" Similar: purgative purging purifying cleansing cleaning releasing relieving freeing delivering exorcising ridding abreactive depurative lustral Opposite: repressive 2. MEDICINE (chiefly of a drug) purgative. nounMEDICINE a purgative drug.
Mike, I started learning Spanish about a year after you started. I truly enjoyed your videos since they were quite motivational. After I became conversational and spending considerable time now in Latin America, I am so glad I went down this time-consuming journey. I connect with the locals and love it. I think because I was so successful in learning Spanish, I said to myself why not learn another language, like Japanese. I've spent 2 months in Japan in 2023 and love the culture, food, and infrastructure. But I discovered something in Japan, and that was their love of jazz. I recently re-took-up the saxophone (since high-school) since I retired and truly enjoyed going to the jazz clubs and jams and getting inspired on how to do jazz improvisation. Jazz improvisation is truly another language in itself. So now i spend my time speaking Spanish to natives while in San Diego or Latin American and listening and learning the art/language of Jazz/improvisation.
Your story is a perfect example of when learning a language is great and helpful. It enhances your life tremendously and is practical and that’s the key 💯
i genuinely feel like i would never EVER lose interest in learning Spanish. whenever i hear it, it really makes me feel some typa way😅. it's so smooth and fast and confusing and beautiful and challenging and sexy. if Spanish people could hear their language the first time, they will fall in love with it. Bc how can one be talking so fast but sound so graceful at the same time?😂❤
I agree 100%. I feel the exact same way when I hear it, it is a beautiful language.
As a native Spanish speaker, thank you for your opinion about my language. I really like Spanish but I feel that natives don't appreciate our language. Many native Spanish speakers prefer to use English terms because it's trendy. I'm not saying English is awful because when I hear many English words while speaking Spanish, I instantly think "why don't you speak English if you really like English words so much?" I'd rather use English words in English.
Spanish is one of the most beautiful sounding languages in my opinion! @@mep6302
Some hard but necessary truths! Thanks for the flipside.
Im glad this helps
Está bien, Mike! Puedes hacer más vídeos en español y viajes!
Es el plan! Gracias por el apoyo!
I want to quit Spanish everyday fam because I’m struggling but I want it and need it. I feel like I’m learning but not memorizing. I knew enough to get a phone number in another country and have her laugh at my efforts 😂 (worked out for both of us). But I was learning a year prior to that anyway. Thanks for the video I needed this truth.
I'm glad this helps and experiences like that will definitely keep you motivated.
You need experiences like that sometimes, in my experience that laughing is actually a good thing haha
Learn Portuguese! I'm a native Spanish speaker, but it only took me a month to learn it. I'm sure it wouldn't take you more than 3 months, per se. Brazilians are also extremely eager to hear you speaking Portuguese.
I guarantee that you'd feel it's worth it for how easy it is.
If you're interested, look up the lessons posted on the Internet by this university. It's called Tá Falado. The lessons there teach Portuguese in English for heritage Spanish speakers, so it would be perfect for you!
It's basically Spanish with a few things changed so you'll feel confident immediately.
But hey, it's only a suggestion lol
I'm very much considering it, especially with my recent discovery of some things that I love about Brazilian culture. I'm highly considering it so thanks for the insight and resources!
Swahili never made sense to me, why you were learning it. I think your point about 3 years of learning for 1-2 month of potential real world is accurate. I have a friend who’s spent 5 years learning Chinese, where we live there’s almost no Chinese people, but there’s tons of Spanish speakers. I think learning languages that you can use locally is one of the most important ways to pick a language to learn.
It actually does make sense to learn a language outside of Spanish because we live in an international world nowadays. I live on a state boarding Mexico, and even though there's more Spanish speakers, there's enough Chinese speakers and I feel a lot more "fulfilled" when I have conversations in Chinese than Spanish. The reason is because Chinese is a lot more personal to their history and culture, so they're very excited when someone knows their language. All of this applies to Swahili too. With Spanish, because of its history, its not as meaningful to a lot of them. Don't get me wrong, it's a relief to many and can open doors, but it's not as woven into them. Think about it as an English speaker, especially if you're Black American. You might be happy to help someone learn English, but the language itself doesn't have those same cultural/historical ties that Swahili has to a Tanzanian.
@@MobbinMic well my friend can’t ever use his Chinese and says he regrets it. If you like learning Chinese good for you, but that’s not what I was trying to communicate and that’s not the case with my example. If you listened Mike, he stopped learning Swahili and stated his reasons. I literally wrote that I agree with his stated reasons. You might need to watch later in the video.
@@crabbypadty393 I watched the whole video... I was saying that it does make sense to learn languages that you're not necessarily surrounded by, just maybe not to people like you - "Swahili never made sense to me, why you were learning it". Also, I'd be surprised if there's no Chinese people around your friend. But if someone is going to stay in a small town in the US and not leave their comfort zone (which is fine), they might as well stick with English to be honest. But learning languages has many benefits beyond communicating with other people in the US. In fact, I'd personally argue that it's a lot of time and effort to put in just to communicate with people, who usually already know English, but in another language... Now, if you just want to learn A language, then I think it's obvious Spanish makes the most sense in the US.
I love the way it sounds and I want to visit the countries where it’s spoken. They are just so far that I wouldn’t be visiting as often as I do and can with Spanish speaking countries. A weekend trip to Puerto Rico or Panama is very doable. A weekend trip to Tanzania is logistically impossible
Thanks for your honesty. It's like that for a lot of people. No shade to anyone, it just seemed like language learning became less about cultural exploration and more of a hustle. But everything gets commodified eventually more or less. You are the first person I have heard say that they love living in Atlanta 😆
Agreed and yes I love it!
The main thing that drives me with learning Japanese every day (and for the past 7 years) is fear, I just don't want to wake up one day and forget everything lol
But yeah the joy of being able to converse is all the gratification I need, but I truly enjoy learning reading and writing as well and I've gained a deeper appreciation for linguistics through my background as being a 2nd generation Indian in the UK (and hence speaking in Hindi to my parents, and later learning to read and write) and also through learning Japanese. The experiences of using Japanese in Japan and also making Japanese friends in my home country through going to events has also taught me about what kind of person I am, what my limits are in terms of going out and engaging with peopke, are invaluable too. But 7 years later I still feel joy every day when I read, write, speak or listen to Japanese, and through that it actually made me appreciate my ancestral language Hindi more, whereas when I was a kid growing up in the UK I oftentimes felt a bit of embarassment.
Such a great perspective and insight here. I agree, if one finds what you've described then they should definitely keep at it. I feel the same way with Spanish and I plan to continue exploring even more just as you have! Gracias!
I think that beside english spanish is the most useful language in the U.S. In haiti, The first foreign language we learn is french, I Moved to the U.S to Miami as a kid, and there are a lot of spanish speakers in miami. As a kid growing up in Miami i always wanted to know what the spanish speakers were Saying and thought it was a beautiful language, and wished i spoked it. I am interested in making my french better, and learning swahili, but not right now I dropped them because i can impact more with spanish. I also feel like when You focused on one thing at a time, You pass being average and become extremely good at it. My ultimate goal is to speak it at the native level.
Great observations here and as you mentioned, I think Spanish is most practical for you there in Miami. I recently saw a video in Spanish with street interviews saying that you don't even need to speak English living in Miami. Que sigas aprendiendo!
@@MikeBen yes, in Miami You don’t have to speak english and can live a normal life. There are Cubans that run succesful businesses with no english. Learning spanish help me, so much in miami. Bro, i went into this walmart in one day, and not a single person spoke english. You should visit miami one day if You haven’t yet, and ricky from bilingue blogs Live there now i seen him twice. Muchas gracias hermano sigue adelante!! Bendiciones!!
Statistically speaking you are correct.
This is why an honest and good language teacher will always tell you- learn a language that is relevant to your life and learn in it what a teacher tells you is relevant for your needs. And I would stress, what a person more fluent than you tells you is relevant for you snce you might be great grammar hater but some elements of grammar might be more relevant than others to how and when you will need a language in your particular life circumstances. I for example like some languages, their sound , their writing systems etc. but have too little use for them in my daily life this is why I keep learning langauges that maybe I do fancy less but need ot use more frequently. And like you said, it's impossible to learnt hem without learning about culture, so I do try to make the culture related to them somewhat compelling to me. So given that I like cooking, art, science and history I try to access those topics in langauges that I'm learning.
Agreed 100%. You need something that keeps you anchored in the language for sure.
Mike, I just love your honesty!!
Thank you!
I think one important thing to keep in mind is the important ties between a language and a culture. When you learn a language, you really get a special understanding of the culture and history of the people. NOW, English and Spanish are kind of different in my opinion because they were the major colonial languages and so their roots aren't truly tied to the culture like that. For example, I'm learning Spanish in Peru, but soon I'm going to take some time out to learn some Quechua language because that really gives me a sense of the indigenous culture and the history of the Incas. My reason for taking a pause on Swahili was because I reached a high beginner level from self-studying, but I had to suspend my travels to Tanzania. However, I will definitely continue in the next couple of years when I get the chance to travel there for a few months. Because like you said, there's no point if it's not benefiting you personally at the moment, although the few times I've come across Swahili speakers has been great and really encouraging.
Anyway, my point is that people have different reasons for learning languages. Many people just want to be able to communicate and mostly stick with the major colonial languages. But learners like me have interests in other culture(s) and want to connect and understand them on a whole other level. "Polyglots" like me typically have separate goals for each language. We might just want to reach a low intermediate in some and an advanced level in others and are OK with learning at a slow pace if time is limited. Just some words to give a different perspective or encourage those learning a language spoken less than English/Spanish.
I definitely understand this perspective and it makes sense if one is studying for these reasons. Its all about priorities for each individual at the end of the day as you articulated. Gracias por este comentario!
@@MikeBen no hay problema, somos todos diferentes 👍🏽
Those reasons are valid. Nice video.
Thanks Brandon
Languages are like a family. English and German are brother and sister. French is a cousin. Spanish is married to English's brother Irish. Aunt Italiana was going to marry Português but started sleeping with Greek who is the husban of Latin. I know they have 600 children and grand children and there is a guy named Chinese who is married to Japanese but had been seen with Russian in a run down hotel. One most have some one to talk to during the hard times and there is nothing like family. czcams.com/video/Dnd2lpe-rW4/video.html
This is a great description of language families
Many of your reasons are why i stopped making CZcams videos. I think this applies to most endeavors. I enjoy learning languages and have now started learning Portuguese. But the time investment to make CZcams videos about that wasn’t worth it to me. And now I have a 4 month old baby making my time even more valuable. Thanks for this video Mike
Long time no see Justin! Congrats on your new baby and I completely understand your points here. Our priorities design our lives for us and I know that with all of those things you've been busy. Glad to hear from you hermano!
@@MikeBen so good to hear from you too! Living here in Florida I have also done the analysis of time investment versus return. Here in Gainesville the three foreign languages I come in contact with most frequently (in this order) are Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean. This is what is influencing which languages I am learning. And thanks for the well wishes with the baby… being dad has a huge learning curve of its own as you might expect 😁
@@gringotolatino I've heard that there are a lot of Brazilians down there so that should definitely keep you motivated. I know that you will be a great dad and congrats again! Please keep in touch!
Facts. Utility with the language is of great importance. That said, what about Portuguese? It is very similar to Spanish and there seem to be more and more Brazilians around speaking it here in the US.
Very true but I won't be in Brazil for long any time soon.
@@MikeBen Cool. Hey, I look forward to more of you content. Definitely helping me to learn Spanish which is my focus right now. Keep up the good work my guy.
You speaking Spanish at the end just boosted my morale more.. lol. !Vamanos!
Esoooo! Sigue!
Really appreciated this. I've been mulling over whether I want to learn Spanish, Japanese or neither recently. The ROI point is a very good one, and also what else one has to sideline to pursue a language seriously.
Definitely, If you live in the U.S. I think the time investment is well worth it. I can't say the same for Japanese right now unless you see yourself frequently visiting Japan, living there, or you're just in love with the culture. Some things to consider...
I will waste all the time in the world to learn Korean. You say your Swahili progress is going great. My Korean progress is not going great but will continue. I think you make great points though. I'm a big hypocrite. I've spent tons of time studying foreign languages and yet if anyone comes to me saying they're thinking they would like to learn their first foreign language.. I'll basically try to change their mind and say it's HARD and takes TONS of time and even then you might not use it. I studied a crazy amount of German in my 20's and then stopped.. got enamored with Japanese, and pretty much haven't used German since. Almost zero. German and German culture just aren't part of my life and I don't see it ever becoming part of my life going forward. I still have a little interest but we only have so much time every day to spend on hobbies. Maybe when I retire. Now if I had spent all that time on Spanish instead of German like you did.. even if I weren't motivated to keep immersing and improving on my own, I could at least use Spanish to talk to people in the US when needed but if there's a German speaker in the US you can pretty much assume they learned English.
Very great points here Paul. If it's a general hobby I completely understand but a language's usefulness must be taken into serious consideration because the time investment is no joke.
There are two languages I dropped quite soon after starting them - Romanian and Dutch. Both languages are fascinating to me, but I lacked the motivation to continue beyond A1 stage, probably because I have no real, compelling reason to learn them from the perspective of real-life use (unlike French and Spanish, which I use often in the real world).
That real world application makes a huge difference!
Yes That s why I stopped learning non-popular languages because they have no benefit in real world.
Bro, Dutch is not a language; it's a throat disease . . .
@@danilopompey754 that's racist bro 😂
@@ba8898, perhaps, but a native Norwegen is the author of the phrase, my instructor, who expressed it to me when I was two years into studying the language. QED
I'm late in posting here. Mike, I have enjoyed your videos and watching your journey as you learned Spanish. I also like your subscriber base. You really have an intelligent, considerate group of subscribers. Living in Texas and California, I found that learning Spanish was almost a necessity. I agree that having readily available, proximal avenues to practice a language is a good reason to learn a new language, but let me make an argument in favor of continuing with at least one African language.
This is not to carrot-dangle, but I found that when I was on the continent, I sorely regretted not picking up at least core proficiency in one of the languages of my african ancestors. Cancun was a wonderful trip. I loved visiting Spain, but there just isn't anything that can prepare you for the impact of a trip back to the land of your ancestral roots. I found West Africans only speak their colonial language across ethnic groups and in the business sector. At home they speak their indigenous tongue.
My newfound drive for language learning came more from historical context and a post-travel awareness. In a historical context, so much effort was undertaken to strip AAs of our original languages (i.e.slave codes) that acquiring those languages is a triumph in itself. Maybe you pick up Yoruba. Maybe it's Wolof. Maybe it's Twi. When you visit the continent (no matter the country), you're going to wish you spent even more time studying.
I think Swahili was a good choice for many reasons. Its usage is spreading in east, south, and central africa. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it will see some adoption in west africa in the next decade. 😯West Africa is tough to navigate language-wise. It has so many languages with smaller speaker populations. Even Nigeria is split into three major indigenous tongues. English and French give you wider coverage in West Africa. This is not so in East Africa. Swahili is increasingly becoming a lingua-franca.
With Swahili, there really is no tonal aspect and pronunciation rules are pretty consistent - much like Spanish.
As far as genealogical ties, you're probably more proximal to Swahili than Spanish. Not to go into too much detail here, but if you have an L haplogroup from your mother's side, you definitely have East African relatives. West Africans in Nigeria and Cameroon are tied to East Africans because those areas are considered the starting points of the Bantu migration. Swahili is a Bantu language at the core and you have a relation (though ancient) to people who speak the language. It's just something to consider. 🙂
I knew about the Bantu migrations but not to this extent. Thank you for this explanation and when I finish graduate school I will re-evaluate my language learning goals. Nothing is black and white for me in life and I change my opinions frequently. Gracias de nuevo!
Good points man, never really thought about it like this. Will bare this in mind when moving onto other languages 👌🏾
THanks Jonathan and please keep us updated on any new languages you decide to learn, I definitely want to see how your approach to learning Spanish will impact your third language.
Thank you for the real perspective. Sometimes, even though it seems so good, it just doesn’t work in real life.
Así es y de nada
Great video! I'm still learning Spanish through italki and madrigal guide to learning spanish! It's been a long and interesting road. I can kind of hold a decent conversation but not quite at an intermediate level😊
Keep going hermano! You won't regret it.
The key is you have to enjoy learning language and useful. So true Mike 😀
Absolutely!
The key is patience and consistence. Main reason why some people master languages while others don't are mainly these two factors. Learning a language is like taking care of child upbringing- takes years, requires one to be ready to put up with lots of daily effort mixed with boredom and numerous cases when one is annoyed with oneself but at the same time has to be able to maintain a constant belief that one day in the future all this will have a positive outcome. Maybe this is why it's more often a feminine pursuit? I mean evolution that must have wired women for motherhood probably have wired female brains better for such form of a long-term effort.
Me gusta tu canal Mike Ben! Voy a tomar clase con Sandra de Colombia. Tu habla bien!!
Muchas gracias!
Hello Mike Welcome Back. Thank you for posting this video. Like you said the usefulness is really important when it comes to investing in learning a new language. From my personal experience, I am a Spanish Teacher and I love the spanish language. In my country I get the opportunity to speak with many Latino people especially Cubans and Venezuelans and just because of that it gives me motivation. However I am a big pagaent fan as well and because of watching pagaents, I became interested in Thai and Vietnamese and started to learn them but recently I've started to think about how often will I travel to Vietnam or Thailand since I live all the way in South America. That doesn't make any sense. So I quitted trying to learn Thai and Vietnamese. So agree with the points you stated in this video. I might consider learning Portuguese too since there are so many Brazilian people in my home town as well.
I had no idea you had such a close tie to Spanish. I know it comes in handy for you and I completely understand your point with those other languages. It’s hard enough to learn a language with motivation so learning one with a lack of motivation is definitely tough.
Love your channel/ I hope you do more up loads
Gracias 🙏🏾
@@MikeBen Mike, would you consider learning Mandarin Chinese because that would be useful on any continent, including the United States?
My native language is Spanish I learned English in school starting in elementary without struggle you know. those languages are not to similar Spanish is romance and English is Germanic language and I feel fine and proud to know those 2 languages fluently I can say so lately I been thinking about it and think that if I have learned this 2 languages and know about American English and Hispanic culture and I can read and write those languages then I think it be cool to learn a third language and maybe more so here I am at 38 years old just starting to learn French it is time consuming and it gets boring personally but at the same time I find it fun and interesting in the long run.
As long as you see the long term value I'd say go for it. As you mentioned. though, it is time consuming so the investment should be worth your while.
All right
This video is my sign to try “perfecting” my Spanish while continuing to learn Portuguese & Haitian Creole (which have been enjoyable) while focusing less on Indonesian. Living in South FL/Miami area, I have TONS of opportunities to talk to Haitians & Brazilians (even Portuguese people) while there are barely any Indonesians. Also, I already stopped learning Russian, Ukrainian, & Swahili for similar reasons that you explained in the video (mainly it didn’t give me that spark of joy & eagerness to continue…at least for now).
It’s also worth mentioning that if you immigrate somewhere that speaks a language you don’t enjoy but have to learn it, this video shouldn’t apply either.😂 I’m assuming a lot of people who learn English only because it’s basically the modern lingua franca in business, tourism, airports, education, science, trade, sports, politics/diplomacy, entertainment, & so forth feel similarly.
Those reasons are definitely motivating. Extrinsically motivating but motivating none the less. If you're interacting with those languages daily I'd go for it. That is what keeps us motivated in my opinion.
I feel like i needed to hear that, i've been thinking about how practical japanese would be and how i would mostly just use it for anime or music. And not that I dont like japanese music or anime but if i am going to watch / listen to it I would prefer to do it in spanish. I've felt much more of a connection to spanish than any other language and use it every day. Still dont know if i should spend time perfecting my spanish or still try to learn something new or continue with japanese tho
I feel that same connection that you feel to Spanish, we can't confuse it for a simple love of learning languages. With Spanish, there is always the fact that it is so useful and beautiful of a language in el fondo!
With google transfer you are covered short term. Learning Spanish is interesting to me. I'm retired and have time. It keeps my brain going. I can read pretty good because of context. It's just a fun challenge.
That’s a great approach to have towards it, especially in retirement. It’s all about priorities for sure. Que sigas aprendiendo!
It's getting to a point in America where you can't go anywhere and some other language isn't spoken (Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, etc). I think one of those language is at least useful/essential...
It depends on your region, town, etc.
@@LIVEINPEACE2023 Agreed
Agreed, depends on the region but there hasn't been a day in the past three years where I've gone out and haven't heard one of the three.
@@MikeBen Absolutely. South, East, West, North!
What was your reason for learning Swahli orignally? Seems like you'd have some of those things in mind initially.
I'm wondering the same thing. Before I truly start to learn a language, I ask myself if the culture and history is interesting, if I'll visit a country where it's spoken, if I like the sound of it, if I can find media in the target language I enjoy, etc. I think Swahili gets a bad rep cause a lot of Black Americans like the idea of learning an African language, typically go for Swahili as it's the most spoken, but don't want to go the extra mile for one that's not as available as Spanish.
I simply liked the way the language sounds and I want to visit countries where it is spoken. After some analysis these aren’t motivating enough. Believe it or not I started learning Spanish with no reason at all so I never viewed a profound reason to start a language as a prerequisite to learning it.
Its hard to learn new language by my self. I did it with english. -Tbh my english suck- I learn english only by reading novels and listening youtube videos without subtitle. But if you want me to speak english or write something... I'm fckd up (messy grammar, typos, pronounciation). But I do understand english -reading and listening-
+ I learn english because I want to read manga+light novels and back then I have a lot of time to learn new language (+the motivation).
Now I want to learn a new language but I dont know how.
I learn english by my self, school did teach me english language but it was too late because I dont really have any interest in english at school (At the point that I got the worst score in class). *English is my 3rd language
It is very difficult and I understand your struggle there. This is especially true if you don't have a reason to use English daily or if you're not around English speakers frequently. I will say, you wrote this very well so great job on getting your English this far.
hello Mike, can you tell us what videos will you post next? Will it be videos be about Spanish learning or travel vlogs like in South American countries?
I actually have a tripped booked but it is months out. I’m thinking more conversation videos for now to help with Spanish listening practice. Any ideas?
@@MikeBen that’s cool that you’re going to be traveling again soon and I’m definitely down for some more conversational videos and if you really are looking for a suggestion, there is a 43 year old dyslexic, who has been sharing his bumpy Spanish journey from just about the beginning also and he’s really struggling to get it😂 but I know you have been really motivational for him and I’m sure he would love to have an intermediate Spanish conversation with you✌️.
Unfortunately, English has never been my native language, so I should learn it anyway.
It is very helpful they say
Can you pls make a video on difference between communicating with people "by speaking their language" and "using Google translate"?
And if AI gets soo good, is learning languages still worth it?
This is a great video idea and yes I will get this done. Gracias!
Motivational Mike
Gracias hermano
Good points thank you for sharing. Do you know any Spanish tutor who is affordable in Atlanta. I can’t self learning like you. It is hard for me.
Can you send me an email, I know a few people that can help.
@@MikeBen can you send me some info about Spanish tutors please?
Yes. This is a hard pill to swallow but once I'm good with French, it be will Kwéyòl and then possibly Spanish. French has been slow for me because of using unproductive ways of learning but I know I will learn it because I know better methods now. I want to learn Papiamento, Bambara and Wolof but am I really going to use those regularly? Problem is some of the people from those backgrounds don't even use those languages regularly (colonial sigma) excluding those born there but the children and grandchildren don't... It is sad but not so sad.
Exactly, with those languages being so insular one has to consider whether learning them is truly "worth it".
Mike !!! You are the man!!! and i have been following your channel for a maybe a year !!! I never leave comments on CZcams but i had to tell You this brother! You are one of My biggest motívators mike!!! ... Can You start learning portugese instead please??? It's a fairly easy transition from spanish and should only take like 7 months To a year to become solid...and brazilian women are crazy sexy and motivation ha ha!! What do You think brother?? ??? Please bro lol
Also You and me are the same skin color 💯...with portugese we Will definetly blend in perfectly in Brazil easily and 100 percent...also please send me the info so i can donate a little money to u for the motivation and help youve given me...i'm basically fluent now brother Mike in spanish ! Your the man! Appreciate You to the fullest!! Time for Portugese now tho G ha ha
I appreciate it, I'm not looking to learn another language right now but as long as you have the motivation continue to study hermano
I really do appreciate the offer but I'm not accepting any donations right now. Gracias y que sigas aprendiendo Portuguese!
hola mike 😍👏🙌
Hola Frances! How are you?
@@MikeBen estoy muy bien .... todavia en italki he aprendido mucho .. tengo 3 maestras ... y tu que tal?
@@franceshall7127 Me alegra! Que sigas aprendiendo. Todo bien por acá. Disfrutando la vida con amigos y familia. Estoy pensando en visitar a California también!
@@MikeBen bueno saber....verdad perfecto avísame cuando ok😊
@@franceshall7127 Listo!
Mike, do you have a girlfriend? You'd be perfect for my daughter. She's a lovely gal, fluent in 4 languages. Just think it over.
I don’t, send me an email por favor. MikeSpanish404@gmail.com
Quod cartarticum fuit, nullum habet effectum placeb. Cca·thar·tic
/kəˈTHärdik/
adjective
1.
providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions; causing catharsis.
"crying is a cathartic release"
Similar:
purgative
purging
purifying
cleansing
cleaning
releasing
relieving
freeing
delivering
exorcising
ridding
abreactive
depurative
lustral
Opposite:
repressive
2.
MEDICINE
(chiefly of a drug) purgative.
nounMEDICINE
a purgative drug.
No entiendo bien que quiere decir esto
Only that I love what you said. Because it heals my wounds.